Month: July 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Remarks as Delivered

Thank you, Stacey [Grigsby]. Good afternoon to everyone. Thank you to the White House Counsel and the Attorney General for bringing us all together today. I am grateful to work with an Attorney General who is deeply committed to the Justice Department’s efforts to defend reproductive freedom.

Dobbs was and is devastating for people and communities across the country. The Supreme Court took away a constitutional right, and in doing so, is preventing women from being able to make decisions about our bodies, our health and our futures. Dobbs and the actions of states in the aftermath of this decision have a disproportionate impact on people of limited financial means, on people of color and other vulnerable communities. These new, complex, widespread threats to reproductive health are both a gender and racial justice issue.

This is a challenging time — particularly for those of you here who have led this fight for so long, and who are on the frontlines working with those most harmed every day. I am inspired by all of you and by my colleagues at the Justice Department working day and night on these issues. Thank you for refusing to be complacent. That’s why we are all here today — because we want to act.

That need for action is why the department established the Reproductive Rights Task Force earlier this month, to formalize our ongoing work to protect reproductive freedom and prepare for the many challenges that lie ahead. 

We brought together senior officials from across the department, who meet daily on our response to Dobbs. This week, we launched a website with information on the Task Force’s work and — importantly — information on how to contact the department, through the FBI, in the event of violence or actionable threats.

We are closely following the new and uncertain landscape of state laws and enforcement actions, and will bring or participate in litigation where they infringe on federal protections. We know there are many challenges still to come, as many state legislatures have not met since Dobbs. But we know there is also real fear over states criminalizing abortion already and misusing private data. We are looking at a number of issues, including the right to travel, denial of emergency medical care and preemption of state laws attempting to ban abortion medication.

We are advising federal agencies on legal issues that have arisen post-Dobbs and defending them in litigation, such as in Texas’s lawsuit against HHS over the agency’s recent guidance under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA).

We’re supporting the Department’s ongoing work to enforce the FACE Act, the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, which establishes criminal and civil penalties for injuring, intimidating or interfering with a person seeking to obtain or provide reproductive health services. 

And we are coordinating technical assistance to states and to Congress because the single best way to protect reproductive freedom is through Congressional action.

Across all these lines of work, the department is treating this as the core civil rights and access to justice issue that it is. And as the legal landscape continues to grow more complex, we know that access to legal assistance will be critical for women and providers all over the country. The Justice Department’s newly reinvigorated Office for Access to Justice will support these efforts. 

We’re all here today because we know we need to deploy legal assistance effectively, collaboratively and strategically. While there are many steps the Justice Department can take, there are areas where we can’t act, areas that are more appropriately addressed by the private bar and broader legal community. It will take all of us — government lawyers, private pro bono attorneys, bar associations, public interest organizations — to do all we can to protect access to reproductive health care and to provide vigorous legal representation of patients, providers and third parties in need.

We all know the incredible responsibility and power that we have as members of the legal profession. We have an obligation to support equal justice under law and an obligation to take action and rise to meet this moment together. And I know we will. Thank you.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Remarks as Delivered

Good afternoon.

It has now been 35 days since the Supreme Court overturned Roe and Casey, eliminating a fundamental constitutional right that had been essential to the freedom and equality of women in the United States for half a century.

On that day, I know we all feared what was to come. And what has happened in the days since has confirmed those fears. The impact of the decision on the lives of people across our country has been immediate, wide-ranging, and devastating.

Over the past month, states across our nation have taken steps to impose abortion bans and other restrictions on access. In states with the most severe restrictions, there is no longer a single clinic providing abortions.

At the same time, we have seen reports of hospitals denying women necessary care for miscarriages and other medical emergencies.

We have seen reports of pharmacies refusing to fill prescriptions for contraceptives.

And we have learned the story of the 10-year-old victim of rape who was forced to travel across state lines to obtain an abortion.

The Justice Department recognizes this situation as the crisis that it is. We recognize the profound threats and devastating harms being posed not only to women’s health and safety but also to their civil rights. And we recognize that the consequences have been and will continue to be especially devastating for people of color and those of limited financial means.

The Justice Department is working relentlessly to protect access to reproductive services.

Since the day Dobbs was decided, we have made several points clear:

Women who reside in states that have banned access to abortion must remain free to seek that care in states where it is legal.

States may not ban the abortion medication Mifepristone based on disagreement with the FDA’s expert judgment about its safety and efficacy.

Federal agencies may continue to provide reproductive health services to the extent authorized by federal law.

And the Department will continue to enforce the FACE Act and protect healthcare providers and individuals seeking reproductive health services in states where those services remain legal.

The Justice Department’s Reproductive Rights Task Force, led by Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta, is vigilantly monitoring state laws and enforcement actions to ensure that states do not infringe upon these and other protections of reproductive rights. 

And when we learn that states are infringing on federal protections, we will consider every tool at our disposal to affirm those protections — including filing affirmative suits, filing statements of interest, and intervening in private litigation. 

As I have already announced, one of our first priorities will be to enforce the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, which requires hospitals to provide necessary stabilizing treatment – including abortion – to people suffering from an emergency medical condition. The law could not be clearer, and we are going to vigorously litigate this issue to ensure that women get the emergency medical care to which they are entitled.

We recognize how high the stakes are, and that the Justice Department has a tremendous responsibility to do everything in our power to protect access to reproductive services. That is what we intend to do.

But as the President’s Executive Order makes clear, we cannot do this work alone.

Today, we are bringing together leaders from the federal government, the reproductive rights community, and legal services providers from across the country with members of the private bar who are offering their time and skill to defend reproductive rights. This convening is an important opportunity to begin our work together to address the greatest needs on the ground.

Alongside our Reproductive Rights Taskforce, the Department’s Office for Access to Justice, led by Director Rachel Rossi, will serve as a point of contact for these efforts in the days ahead.

Before I turn the program over to the White House Counsel, I want to express my deep gratitude to everyone who has taken the time to be here today. This work is difficult, and it will continue to be so. But the effort to defend reproductive freedom could not be more urgent. Thank you for being part of it.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Gregory Evans, 50, a former Captain with the Madison County Detention Center, in Richmond, Kentucky, was sentenced to two years in federal prison, and three years of supervised release. Evans previously pleaded guilty to using unreasonable force against a detainee, thereby violating the detainee’s civil rights.

According to court documents and statements made at the sentencing hearing, Evans was escorting the victim, E.B., down a hallway when Evans grabbed E.B. out of anger, strangled him and repeatedly punched him. Evans’s assault caused E.B. to lose consciousness and Evans then punched E.B. in the back and face while E.B. was unconscious. E.B. suffered a broken jaw as a result of the assault. Evans was aware that chokeholds were banned at Madison County Detention Center and that punching and strangling E.B. out of anger was an unreasonable use of force. Following the assault, Evans falsified an incident report and made false statements to the FBI. Specifically, Evans falsely claimed that he had ordered E.B. to turn around prior to the assault, that E.B. ignored his commands, and he deliberately omitted the fact that he had strangled E.B.

“The defendant abused his authority as a law enforcement officer and betrayed the public’s trust when he violently assaulted a detainee in his custody,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Law enforcement officials who abuse inmates and detainees are not above the law, and we will continue to vigorously prosecute those who deprive individuals of their Constitutional rights.”

“The defendant was supposed to be law enforcement; instead, he broke the law and violated the rights of someone in his custody,” said U.S. Attorney Carlton S. Shier IV for the Eastern District of Kentucky. “Today, he learned the consequence of his criminal conduct. We will continue our efforts to prosecute excessive force violations, and strive to restore some of the public trust that is lost whenever these crimes occur.”

This case was investigated by the FBI Lexington resident agency, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary Dembo for the Eastern District of Kentucky and Trial Attorney Andrew Manns of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.